According to Big & Little's facebook page, today is the last day in their current location and they will be closed until they are able to open at the new location. They anticipate it will only be a few days. I wish them luck!

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:According to Big & Little's facebook page, today is the last day in their current location and they will be closed until they are able to open at the new location. They anticipate it will only be a few days. I wish them luck!

When I was there yesterday, 'Little' said they hoped to open at the new location on Wednesday.

My wife and I snuck in for lunch yesterday just ahead of the rush. Space is what i expected, larger with a few rows of picnic tables and reggae blasting on the sound system. Food was as good as ever with a gigantic piece of beautifully fried cod being the standout. Wait time was a little slow but they jammed so no big deal.

Having been to the previous locale twice before, I checked out the new spot yesterday.

Did the prices take a pretty big jump??

Quality of food was still great, but thought a little on the pricey side... The fish and chips were $15 (actually $16 I think because we went w/ the truffle option on the fries), a pork belly po boy $14 I think, a hot dog for one of the kids.. Neither the hot dog or PBPB came w/ fries. 2 of the bottled soft drinks and a fountain drink. Didn't have one, but the burgers still seemed priced pretty low at the $6-something range I believe.

$46 the grand total after tax

I'd say i got some pretty good food, but I'm not going to call it a fantastic value. As an odd comparisoin, that same day we got 2 nicely done Tortas, 2 Tacos Asada, and 2 Tacos Cecina from Taco Veloz for well under $20.. That is a value to me.

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:I think there is something admirable in BIG & little's seeming dedication to coming up with new sandwich ideas that are both a) irresistable to me, and b) way too much food for me to eat in one sitting. Though probably not in my inability to just say no.

Consider this pork belly po boy that I ate back around February

Damn thing near killed me. Since then, I adopted their pork tenderloin po boy as my go-to order, a sandwich that by itself was only slightly too much to eat. Though I don't believe I've ever walked out of there without an order of fries on the side.

Brought my friend with me to BIG & Little's today. I went for the "Lamb Gyros taco" but he thought that pork tenderloin po boy I mentioned in the quoted section above sounded pretty good and this time I got a picture of it. My friend had gotten their burger the last time we went and is now torn between that and this for our next visit.

We split an order of fries. I've been a couple of times since they moved, and each time the fries didn't seem to be cooked quite as dark. Still tasty though

The "Lamb Gyros taco" was essentially a gyros in a flour tortilla. The tortilla was sturdy enough that it didn't start to fall apart until I was about halfway through the taco. I didn't see if they cut the meat directly from a spit but the crisp edges make me think it may have hit a griddle before finding its way to me. Seemed to be the standard Kronos gyros meat but that doesn't bother me at all as I'm a fan.

I've been one of B and L's biggest fans from the beginning, and am happy for their success. They're constantly creating new and exiting items and their consistency should be praised. However, with the price increases it's no longer a slam dunk in terms of value. I simply can't get full for under 20 dollars, some of the sandwiches are 15.00! Part of me wonders if now they're simply priced appropriately whereas before some of the items were simply a steal. I get that fresh seafood isn't cheap, their rent is obviously higher now along with the supplied parking and that the DDD influx has allowed them to remain busy despite the price hikes, but for me I've simply gone here less since they moved to their new location. The new location is obviously larger, more comfortable and it is a business so they're trying to maximize their profits which they deserve, but I'll miss the early B and L that was a hidden hole in the wall gem with their bottom of the barrel pricing. It's very easy to spend OVER 25.00, (crab tostada, a taco, and a po boy) They're big time now and the hour long waits on the weekends attest to that. Part of the appeal is that there is simply nothing else in Chicago like this, and thus I have no doubt they will remain popular for the foreseeable future... This is exactly the type of establishment I'm happy to support, I guess I'm just sad I can no longer come here 3x a week without feeling guilty haha.

Two diverging recent experiences for me - one perfect (in aesthetics as well as taste) burger and fries, value unquestioned, and then a separate-occasion order of three small baskets where nothing clicked and I somehow handed over $17.

Since you can already picture the former experience, let me say that the latter was characterized by a crumbly bun and wrinkly, flavorless hot dog, a soggy gyros taco, and a $3 can of limonata. The saving grace of the order was the squid taco, with perfectly fried calamari and pickled jalapeno rings for some neat shape resonance, but this was drowning in mayo and bland cocktail sauce. I'd still recommend it.

I enjoyed the new space on both visits and think the guys are the best, but I too am struggling with the value equation. However, this is offset by the parkability and the knowledge I can go back soon for a burger or other order with sauce on the side, and that at least for the moment the view east from this place (especially when the El is in the foreground) is one of the great angles on the city.

All of that said, I think everyone agreed the prices were ridiculously low when they first opened. But still, everything has gone a bit too far in the other direction for me. The fish & chips in particular, is now way overpriced. Duke of Perth is $10.25 and AYCE on wednesday/friday. Owen and Engine and The Gage are both $17, but have table service, booze, and much nicer decor.

They weren't busy when we went last night around 7. The batter- fried portablello sandwich was a great twist on an old standby and at $6.50 the price seemed fine. I can buy almost a pound of River Valley mushrooms for that price and make a superior sandwich at home, but I didn't.

Today, I'm at another breakfast favorite where 1 pancake was $4.14 & a cup of tea was almost $2.

Can I get pancakes for less somewhere else? Yes.

Eating out is still relatively less expensive here & at Big & Little if you factor in just labor.

Sure most of us could make a superior burger & fries, pancakes, or seafood at home, but once you factor in the convenience/ value of your time a nice independent fast food place like Big & Littles or the little breakfast place I'm sitting in right now, while not inexpensive, is great.

For us, the price isn't what stopped us from going as frequently as the old location, it's thinking about the scale. We all know there's almost always some place cheaper to eat, even if it is at home.

pairs4life wrote:Eating out is still relatively less expensive here & at Big & Little if you factor in just labor. Sure most of us could make a superior burger & fries, pancakes, or seafood at home, but once you factor in the convenience/ value of your time a nice independent fast food place like Big & Littles or the little breakfast place I'm sitting in right now, while not inexpensive, is great.For us, the price isn't what stopped us from going as frequently as the old location, it's thinking about the scale. We all know there's almost always some place cheaper to eat, even if it is at home.

Some of us couldnt make superior burgers at home - but we still dont end up here much

Its never fair to compare it with home-cooked food,of course. But it is entirely fair to compare prices with other food-spots. I dont particularly care if the (good) food I eat is at an independent place or not - I realize Iam unusual in that on LTH. But even so... a place like Ginger's is probably independent too, no? Or DOP? Or The Globe? They do a very good AYCE fish-and-chips at Gingers for about 11 bucks (as does Duke of Perth, as gleam pointed out - I havent been to DOP though). While the price at Ginger's (and DOP) has stayed the same for the past 2 years, B&L has gone from $8 to $15.

In terms of convenience.. it happens to be just as inconvenient to me personally as Gingers would be. Which is probably why I see little reason to go to B&L, myself. (I mean, the fish or shrimp taco is both better *and* 50% cheaper at La Tagartija...)

c8w made my point exactly. I wasn't comparing the cost at b&l to ingredient cost or cooking out, I was comparing it to other non-chain restaurants in the city that serve fish and chips. I'm a huge fan of big and little's, but I don't see $15 worth of value in the fish and chips they deliver, not when so many places serve equally good fish and chips in a nicer setting for 25-30% less.

I think the burger is fairly unique in the city in style, still, and I like the fried fish tacos. But A lot of the prices have gotten pretty absurd. I think the mahi taco is now $5 when it's available, but was $3.50 or so a year ago. Yeah, it's a ton of food, but I'd personally rather pay $3 for a taco half the size.

Back again tonight for the batter-fried portabello and that sandwich cost about the same as the commercial veg patty at Gold Coast Dogs, and is cheaper than most portabello sandwiches I find in the city, although not the veg patty at Burger King & that's isn't particularly tasty in my opinion. It was absolutely dead tonight around 5:45 pm and I love the 80's hits they've played both nights.

They even kindly turned it down when Alistair asked last night.

Peace,

Last edited by pairs4life on January 16th, 2012, 7:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Dinner at B&L last night.Happy to say the food is still wonderful if not necessarily an awesome value. I was worried with the new faces on the line and all the board chatter. As most have noted, the fish and chips are way up. Last night, it made me balk at buying even though they are the best F&C experience I've had in Chicago. Then I saw two orders from the couple sitting next to us. The price has gone WAY up, but from what I can tell, the portion size has gone up a large amount as well.